05-29-2009 08:29

Forum: MIND

Ike knows I love him as a brother and we've shared many great times together face-to-face - so to those that don't know our friendship, I wanted you to know that we love each other so that you don't read too much into this post.

Ike...
I disagree with what I think is the premise of your post, which is that if our mission is a direct quote from Jesus in Scripture, it's not a worthy mission.

To operate as so is to assume that the Spirit of God is no longer active and working.

To operate as so is to assume that the only way God speaks to us is through the printed texts passed down through the generations and translated to you and me.

***Let me make it clear that I believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, that is the final say, the thing that trumps any other "word from the Lord" that we might think we are hearing***

I would also point out what was said already - Jesus was speaking directly to people in specific situations, and while His words are no less true, He might have a different mission in mind for me to specifically live out than for you - and the same is true of our churches.

Yes, churches use business language, and that stinks... but the language does "speak the language" of the average person who attends that church - at least it does to mine. Having our stated mission gives us permission to say "no" to certain ideas, events, or projects that would distract us from our ultimate goal of using small groups as a vehicle to reach our county.

While it's true that the closer Jesus got to the Cross, the smaller the crowd was around Him.... but now that we are on the other side of the Cross and know how the story is going to end, I think it's expectied of us to make the crowd following Jesus as large as possible. If our missions statements are helping (and I believe my church's is) to accomplish that, then what is altogether bad about it?

02-16-2009 10:24

Forum: TEMPLE

LOL...

We're live in different musical worlds.

I was going to ask you which bass you wanted me to send you as a loaner, since I have two:



or...



Either way, I was totally willing to ship 'em to you and have you rock out for Jesus...

New (FREE) Resource for Worship Minstry 01-01-2009 03:45

Forum: MIND

I've been working for the last two years on the launch of of DevelopingWorship, and online place for worship leaders, musicians, vocalists, technicians, and other like-minded folk to gather to connect and equip.

It's been in the forum phase for a year now, with worship-minded people from all 50 US states and over 50 countries worldwide joining in.

As of yesterday, the rest of the online ministry launched, with videos and articles about the ministry of worship within the local church. New media content is added daily, and there over 100 new videos coming down the pipeline in the coming months.

If you're wanting a place to find encouragement, community, and practical tools for worship ministry, check it out.

DevelopingWorship.com

12-18-2008 08:55

Forum: TEMPLE

Robin,

What a cool opportunity!

Have you thought about incorporating song and scripture together? I would suggest theme on God's goodness, and then talking here and there about our individual and corporate response to His goodness.

10-25-2008 09:42

Forum: MIND

Christ the King Community Church - Bellingham, WA.

Vision Statement
To be a real church that equips real people to serve the real God in a real world.

Mission Statement:
To create an authentic Christian community that effectively reaches out to un-churched people in love, acceptance, and forgiveness so that they may know the joy of salvation and a purposeful life of discipleship.

We've had the same Mission Statement in all 21 years of our existence. God has blessed this mission, as we've gone from a church of 58 people to having 5,000 in Bellingham We've planted 80-something churches around the world as well.

You've got a great point, Michael - without a stated mission that is both made known and kept primary, it is easy for any group of people (churches especially) to get stuck.

08-19-2008 11:50

Forum: MIND

I think online giving is great - the giving is the same, and in this modern age, the church is able to retain more of the money. I know that the banks in our area charge for check processing fees and even counting fees for all of the cash. We hire an armored car service to transport the monies from our safe to the bank, and that's not cheap, either. Utiizing online giving takes away these costs.

If the giver feels like its less of a discipline or less meaningful, then by all means, the need to give in cash or write a check, if it helps them feel better - but the bottom line is that gift is still the same amount, and can still have exactly the same obedience and heart behind it.

Sermon on Praise/Worship 06-26-2008 10:53

Forum: MIND

Here's a QuickTime link to a sermon I gave this past weekend on praise/worship.

Ingredients: What Praise And Worship Are Made Of

06-22-2008 07:45

Forum: MIND

David,

It's tough to try to offer any advice for a church I've never been to. I just always tell any worship leader that if people aren't worshipping with you, then you aren't doing your job!

On a side note, I will say that over time, people start to take a church's name and shorten it for the sake of ease. For instance, Christ the King Community Church over time became "Christ the King Church", and then just "Christ the King", and over the last few years, we've become known in our area simply as "CTK".

If this happens to your newfound church, you can invite people to "Slicer" wth you. Imagine the fun you can have with that!

06-12-2008 11:02

Forum: MIND

quote:

Originally posted by david johnson yep. vote or don't complain. the nomination campaigns have been a bother this year, everyone is shooting themselves in the foot. anyone here wish me to write them in?? i kinda think sam's THE man for the top spot. ...easy to spell, too. he'll be uncle sam for real. dj

05-18-2008 05:48

Forum: MIND

Other faiths - like Hindu temples and such? Wow - what did you learn?

04-25-2008 12:00

Forum: MIND

I think it's up to us to make sure our language is INCLUSIVE.

I think it's up to us to explain some of the rules everytime we gather.

If we're not using inclusive language and explaining things as we go, either we're not caring enough for the people in our midst who are new to our family and unoriented in our faith, OR, even more sadly, we assume that everyone in the room is a Christian.

04-14-2008 03:03

Forum: MIND

My issue isn't with burying talents, it is in making sure that I am giving appropriate time to them.

I have areas of giftedness where I've been given 10 talents.
I have others where I've been blessed with 5.
I have some areas where I only have 1 talent.

I need to make sure that I'm spending the most amount of time in the areas where I have been given 10 talents so that I get the most return. The problem, though, is I'm lazy. To get the return on the 10 talents, I have to invest that talent. Whether the work is relational, mental, physical, or whatever, I have to PUT THE TALENT TO WORK to get the intended result.

I need to stop spending all my time in my 1 talent areas just because it's easier.

03-25-2008 12:02

Forum: MIND

Tim,

I'm really digging this exchange, as it is respectful and loving, even while disagreeing.

I'm right, and you're wrong. I win, you lose.



No seriously, I have some things to say, but won't have time to say them until later in the day. Thanks for responding.

sam

03-24-2008 11:04

Forum: MIND

quote:

Originally posted by Adam Jacob Right on, Sam. Jesus wasn't a republican. Nor was he a democrat. He was a Libertarian. Geesh.

And here I was thinking he was in the Green Party...

On a serious note in reply to your post, I've turned down many requests for patriotic worship services. It's fine to sing "God Bless America", until we get to the line "stand beside her". Shouldn't it be more like "rein above her" or something like that?

03-24-2008 11:00

Forum: MIND

Tim,

An interesting post, thanks for writing it.

I'm not making the connection, though.

Voting isn't necessarily a sign of complete trust. I trust that my garbage service will come, so I put my trash out on the street on Wednesday mornings. I trust that my mail will come, so I drive my truck by my mailbox every day when I get home from work. I trust that the person that made my lunch at the Thai restaurant today made it with fresh ingredients, so I ate it.

We trust at different levels.

To say I trust all of these people I just mentioned is a true statement.
To say that I trust them in the same way I trust Jesus us a false statement.

If I were to to trust Clinton, Obama, or McCain enough to vote for them, that does not mean I trust them more than the Lord, or instead of the Lord.

I don't think that not voting is un-Christian, but I do find it to be a rather immature position. Even if your vote it more against one candidate than it is for another, a vote should still take place. All I know is this, in my mind, not voting successfully disqualifies you from having your voice heard - which is a big part of our governing system.

My governing system not only allows me to vote, but doesn't work unless I do.

Jesus said that we, as His followers, should submit to our governing system.

The natural result for me is a vote.

I know your post might not have been about voting, but I had to get that off my chest.

I do believe that there are many the allow government to be their god, much as other allow fame, success, approval, addiction, or money be theirs. It's sad.

03-24-2008 05:02

Forum: MIND

Nice.

From the "Mockingbird" album from Derek Webb, a great song called "King and a Kingdom"... I think we as worship leaders could benefit from a discussion about "America worship" that tends to run rampant...

"my first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man
my first allegiance is not to democracy or blood
it's to a king & a kingdom

(vs. 2)
there are two great lies that i've heard:
the day you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will not surely die
and that Jesus Christ was a white, middle-class republican
and if you wanna be saved you have to learn to be like Him"

Good Friday 03-21-2008 09:32

Forum: MIND

Prayer.

Clarity.

Purpose.

Glory.

Determination.

Humiliation.

Agony.

Pain.

Suffering.

Emotion.

Thirst.

Anguish.

Surrender.

Finished.

03-20-2008 04:36

Forum: MIND

Maybe you didn't hear me, Ike.

(cue the cheesy MIDI background)

If you truly love Jesus, you'll pass them along to everyone in your addressbook.

To make this email even more powerful, perhaps I should draw a clever picture using only letters and symbols from the keyboard.


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .*
. . . . . . . . . . .*. . . . . . . ** *
. . . . .. . . . . .*** . . * . . *****
. . . . . . . . . . .** . . **. . . . .*
. . . . . . . . . . ***.*. . *. . . . .*
. . . . . . . . . .****. . . .** . . . ******
. . . . . . . . . ***** . . . .**.*. . . . . **
. . . . . . . . .*****. . . . . **. . . . . . *.**
. . . . . . . .*****. . . . . .*. . . . . . *
. . . . . . . .******. . . . .*. . . . . *
. . . . . . . .******* . . .*. . . . .*
. . . . . . . . .*********. . . . . *
. . . . . . . . . .******* . ***
*******. . . . . . . . .**
.*******. . . . . . . . *
. ******. . . . . . . . * *
. .***. . *. . . . . . .**
. . . . . . .*. . . . . *
. . . . .****.*. . . .*
. . . *******. .*. .*
. . .*******. . . *.
. . .*****. . . . *
. . .**. . . . . .*
. . .*. . . . . . **.*
. . . . . . . . . **
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. . . . . . . . *
. . . . . . . . *
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. . . . . . . . *

PS. This email is TRUE, this story did happen.

03-20-2008 08:48

Forum: MIND

Where do I put my threads with funny yet heart warming stories that were forwarded to me on email? As you all know, if you truly love Jesus, you'll read them and pass them along to at LEAST 1,289 of your friends.